Boldness

SUN., NOV. 17, 1985, 5:14 AM
FARM, STUDY

Boldness is a necessary balance to humbleness and caution. All virtues have their balances, and, as such, they become virtues… the balances, that is. In fulfilling your pledge to Me you have studied Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which is an epistle of boldness. He says that what he preaches is the only gospel truth – Christ crucified and resurrected, the result being grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. I still like this truth (for I did arrange for it to become Holy Scripture), but occasionally it needs balancing, too. And boldness needs balancing, but this morning, o son, I shall extol this quality.

I have not yet called for you to be bold in making these Teachings I give to you known beyond your small group of friends and colleagues. However your Ruminations have a proper modicum of boldness, and of this I approve. They are reaching beyond the original group, and that shall cause you some pain, but this is an almost inevitable cost of boldness. Just continue to follow My directions, be they bold or cautious, and I shall be pleased.

In comparison with what you know about most others, including Christians, that you know, I come to you with a great deal of boldness. I have certainly not made you into some automaton, but I speak to you plainly, and I influence you regularly and often. You are not a saint beyond your developed capacities, but you are following My pressures, and you are functioning better than if you were just going your own way.

You see, in boldness I can convert a person to a radically different life. I needed Paul, and I didn’t have “time” for him to develop naturally away from his commitment as a Pharisee. So I gave him a mighty and awesome conversion experience that changed him markedly. But I also can work through people as they are, without obvious conversion, and this, too, is boldness. It is bold to be strong. It is bold to be weak. You just need wisdom to know the difference, and when each is appropriate.

You need not be perfectly sure to be bold. If you are not sure, then it is more reasonable to be cautious. In this current Ruminations you deal with death and eternal or everlasting life, and you do so in a rather bold way. I have given you these Teachings, and this means you can be sure. Yet they do not fit neatly with most Christian interpretations of My Holy Scriptures, so this must lower your assurance. Still… you can be bold as you write, just as Paul was. What he was saying was certainly contrary to most interpretations of Scripture. What he “had” was from Me, and for many I was not as reliable as Scripture. So I needed boldness from Paul.

The leaders of two great countries come together this week, and each shall display boldness, for each knows that this is appreciated by his people. That, of course, shall be troublesome, but boldness usually is a mixed blessing (as is virtually every blessing). Prayers for balance, with caution and humility, will be heard… and, never fear, I shall be there. As a bold Sprit I would not miss this encounter.